Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky group owned by Pernod Ricard and famed producers of Chivas Regal, announced plans to build a carbon-neutral distillery on Islay on Tuesday.
The distillery, which will focus on the production of peated single malts, will be located on Gartbreck Farm, just a few miles southwest of the famed Bowmore Distillery. Chivas Brothers recently acquired the property, and in September, Chivas and Permod Rivard allocated $76 million to build the distillery, simultaneously pledging to be completely carbon-neutral by the end of 2026.
Chivas Brothers is one of the largest distillery owners in Scotland with a total of 14 Scotch whisky distilleries under their umbrella, second to only Diageo. Known for their single malt labels like The Glenlivet, Aberlour, and Scapa, Chivas Brothers is perhaps most famous for their production of Chivas Regal, a blended Scotch whisky that kickstarted the “Chivas Regal Effect.” The construction of the new distillery marks both Chivas Brothers’ and Pernod Ricard’s first venture into Islay Scotch production.
“This is an important new chapter in the Chivas Brother story,” said Chivas Brothers chairman and CEO Jean-Etienne Gourgues in a news release. “The introduction of an Islay whisky completed our comprehensive and award-winning Scotch portfolio. As a business built on hundreds of years of heritage, it also gives us the opportunity to do something we rarely do, which is to start from scratch.”
The historic distilling hub of Islay is world renowned for its production of heavily peated Scotch whiskies. Though there is no
